Does Anyone Buy Acorns? All You Need to Know

This website is supported by its readers. If you click one of my links I may earn a commission. I am also a participant in the Amazon affiliates program and I will also earn a commission from qualified purchases.

When it comes to growing oak trees, acorns are essential. With acorns being so commonplace, a question I had before growing my oak bonsai was, do any buy acorns? 

Acorns are regularly purchased from retailers for hunting, crafting, and cooking. Acorns then will typically be purchased when larger quantities of acorns are needed. 

People opt to purchase acorns instead of picking them in the wild for quality control, ensuring they are provided with good quality acorns. Some may fail to germinate when picking acorns from the wild due to cold conditions or pests. The overall quality may be bad hence why people opt for purchasing instead. 

So, where can you buy or sell acorns? And how much can you get for selling acorns? Keep reading to find out more. 

Just a quick heads up, over the past three years of running Plantpaladin, hundreds of people have asked for product recommendations. As such, You can find my favorite indoor bonsai tree here (link takes you to Bonsaiboy), my favorite outdoor bonsai tree (link takes you to Bonsaiboy), or have a look at all the products I recommend here. 

Does anyone buy acorns? 

As a kid, there was nothing more exciting than racing your friends across the neighborhood to see who could gather the most acorns from oak trees or sneaking a peek at squirrels as they stuffed their faces with oak nuts.

There’s no doubt that acorns are a wildlife favorite, but why does anyone buy acorns when they are so frequently available? 

Does anyone buy acorns? 

The answer is yes! People buy acorns for various reasons, such as crafting, hunting, planting, and even cooking!  

To get to the bottom of why I visited my local botanical gardens, visited a few garden retailers, and even undertook a quick survey of 5 plant paladin readers. 

To summarize: 

• People often purchase acorns instead of picking them directly when larger quantities of acorns are needed. 
• You may also need to purchase acorns if specific oak species are required. With over 600 oak species, acorns for each of these trees will vary greatly. 
• Quality control also improves purchasing acorns instead of picking them from the wild. 
• Acorns picked in the wild may be out of season, fail to germinate, or be damaged by the elements or wildlife. 
• Acorns purchased directly from reputable retailers will almost always be of better quality. 
• The primary purpose purchased acorns are used for are hunting, cooking, and crafting. 
• You can purchase Acorns from reputable gardener etailers or via Amazon. 

Does Anyone Buy Acorns? 

The answer is yes. There’s a market out there for acorns. You may be surprised to know that acorns have a ton of uses! Let’s take a look at some of them. 

Hunting 

Many hunters purchase enormous quantities of acorns to serve as bait for deer. This is because deer love acorns since they’re abundant, easy to digest and have a great deal of nutritional value. 

White-tailed deer, for instance, sometimes rely on acorns as a primary food source. So, acorns are excellent bait for luring deer during hunting season. 

Crafting 

In the hands of DIYers, who are known to use anything for crafts, not even acorns would be off limits! Believe it or not, there are several things people can do with acorns in crafting and DIY projects. 

Their warm brown tones look great for holiday season decorations and are also relatively easy to work. You can use acorns to create everything from picture frames and acorn sculptures to jewelry, candles, and autumn wreaths.

Cooking 

Yes, we know. You’re probably wondering if acorns are safe to eat. The short answer is yes, they are. You can’t just pick one off the tree and eat it. 

Acorns contain tannins, which are toxic for humans if consumed in large amounts. Not only that, but they have an extremely bitter flavor. There are a couple of things that you should do first before acorns are consumed. 

However, the degree of bitterness ranges from one oak species to another. For example, red oak acorns have more tannins and taste more bitter than white oak acorns.

The good news is that tannins can be removed by soaking or boiling the acorns. Once the tannins are removed, they’re safe to eat. 

You may eat them as-is by roasting them and seasoning them with salt, or you can incorporate them into various dishes. 

Some people also make acorn coffee, which is a substitute for regular coffee that’s caffeine-free.

The icing on the cake is that acorns are good for you since they’re packed with high nutritional value. They contain:

• Omega-3 fatty acids 
• Phytosterols
• Antioxidants 

Can You Sell Fallen Acorns You Find? 

Say you have an oak tree in your backyard flooding your lawn with acorns every winter, and you don’t have a purpose for all these fallen acorns. Can you sell them? 

The short answer is yes; you can sell fallen acorns. There’s a market for buying and selling acorns. 

Many people, including hunters and DIY enthusiasts, would gladly pay you to take these fallen acorns off your hands.

Where Can You Sell Acorns?

For maximum profit, your best bet is to sell your acorns online. Just as you would for any other type of product you wish to sell, you can set up a seller’s page on any of these sites:

• Amazon
• eBay 
• Etsy 
• Facebook
• Craigslist

You can also sell your acorns at your local farmer’s market. You’ll come across folks from different walks of life interested in purchasing acorns.

How Much Can You Sell Acorns for? 

In most cases, people expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $8 for a pound of acorns (about 60–80 nuts). However, oak trees come in several varieties, each with unique characteristics and pricing. 

A white oak tree, for instance, will set you back more than a red oak tree. Because of this, the price of white oak acorns may be higher than red oak acorns. 

Also, if you’re selling online and have partnered with a shipping company, adding shipping fees to the price is reasonable.

What Else Can You Do With Fallen Acorns? 

Aside from selling them, you can do a couple of other things with a surplus of acorns. Let’s check them out!

Plant an Oak Tree

What’s better than lobed green oak trees everywhere? Absolutely nothing! 

One of the best ways to put your acorns to good use is by simply planting them. After all, that is what they’re created to do! 

Of course, not all acorns grow into a tree. This is why it’s essential to do a float test and follow other instructions on planting an oak tree.

Put Them in Animal Feeders

Wild animals go nuts for acorns (pun intended). Not only do squirrels and deer enjoy munching on them, but so do more than a hundred other kinds of animals. 

If you have animal feeders in your backyard or neighborhood, stack them up with acorns! You’ll be doing a service to wildlife by providing them with food, and you’ll also be doing yourself a favor by keeping animals out of your garden.

Survey results

I asked five plant paladin readers who grew their oak trees if they purchased the acorns from a retailer or picked them up from the wild: 

Final Thoughts 

Acorns are a delicacy to various wildlife species emerging from the mighty oak tree. They’re even a primary food source for some of them. 

However, when it comes to actual people, does anyone buy acorns? 

Yes, people sure do, whether for cooking, crafts, hunting, or planting. Some people also sell their abundance of acorns online or at the farmer’s market.

My top picks for the gear you will need!

So like I mentioned earlier, over the past three years of running PlantPaladin, hundreds of people have asked me for my recommendations on the best bonsai gear on the market. 

Having spent thousands of dollars on bonsai items these past few years and tested at least 100 bonsai-specific products, I’ve listed my favorite products below – All of which I highly recommend and think you can get great value. 

They can purchase directly by clicking the link to take them to Amazon. 

Bonsai Tool Set: One of the significant challenges I’ve had is finding a toolset that was not only durable but didn’t break the bank. SOLIGT has recently developed a fantastic bonsai tool set that covers all the tools you need to trim, prune, and repot your trees. – You can grab it here. 

Complete Bonsai Set: Many of you will want to grow your bonsai trees entirely from scratch, but finding the varicose seeds, pots, and other items in one place can be challenging. Leaves and Sole then have created a complete bonsai set that I’ve personally used that ticks all the boxes. You can grab it here. 

Bonsai wire: The number of times I’ve run out of wire for my bonsai or purchased cheap bonsai wire that doesn’t do the job is embarrassing for me to admit. After a lot of trial and error, I found that using Hotop’s aluminum bonsai wire is one of the best options on the market. This can easily be used for both indoor and outdoor bonsai. You can grab it here.